Transducers & Applications

IE304

Module 4: Flow and Level Measurement

Lecture 27:Variable Area Flowmeters

Dr. Divya Asija, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor II
EEE Department
Amity School of Engineering and Technology
dasija@amity.edu
Flow Measurement: Variable Area Flowmeters
 Rotameter
➢The orificemeter, Venturimeter and flow nozzle work on the principle of
constant area variable pressure drop. Here the area of obstruction is
constant, and the pressure drop changes with flow rate.
➢On the other hand Rotameter works as a constant pressure drop variable
area meter.
➢It can be only be used in a vertical pipeline. Its accuracy is also less (2%)
compared to other types of flow meters.
➢But the major advantages of rotameter are, it is simple in construction,
ready to install and the flow rate can be directly seen on a calibrated scale,
without the help of any other device, e.g. differential pressure sensor etc.
➢Moreover, it is useful for a wide range of variation of flow rates (10:1).

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Department, ASET, AUUP
 Rotameter
The basic construction of a rotameter is shown in fig. 7.
▪ It consists of a vertical pipe, tapered downward. The flow passes from the bottom to the top.
There is cylindrical type metallic float inside the tube. The fluid flows upward through the gap
between the tube and the float.
▪ As the float moves up or down there is a change in the gap, as a result changing the area of the
orifice.
▪ In fact, the float settles down at a position, where the pressure drop across the orifice will
create an upward thrust that will balance the downward force due to the gravity. The position
of the float is calibrated with the flow rate.

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 (4)

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 If the tube is made in such a way that At varies linearly with the displacement, one
have a linear relationship in the form,

Q= K1+K2x (9)

that is, the scale of the tube can be graduated linearly in terms of flow rate.
Otherwise, the displacement of the float can be converted to electrical signal by
using a LVDT or similar type of displacement sensor. For large flow rate
measurement, the rotameter is normally place in a bypass line.

The major source of error in rotameter is due to the variation of density of the fluid.
Besides, the presence of viscous force may also provide an additional force to the
float.
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 Construction of the float
The construction of the float decides heavily, the performance of the rotameter.
In general, a float should be designed such that:
(a) it must be held vertical
(b) it should create uniform turbulence so as to make it insensitive to viscosity
(c) it should make the rotameter least sensitive to the variation of the fluid density.
A typical construction of the float is shown in fig. 9.
❖The top section of the float has a sharp edge and several angular grooves.
❖The fluid passing through these grooves, causes the rotation of the float.
❖The turbulence created in this process reduces the viscous force considerably.

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 Electromagnetic Flowmeter
Electromagnetic flowmeter is different from all other flowmeters due to its
uniqueness on several accounts.
The advantages of this type of flowmeter can be summarized as:
1. It causes no obstruction to flow path.
2. It gives complete linear output in form of voltage.
3. The output is unaffected by changes in pressure, temperature and viscosity of
the fluid.
4. Reverse flow can also be measured.
5. Flow velocity as low as 10-6m/sec can be measured.

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Department, ASET, AUUP
 Electromagnetic Flowmeter
➢ Electromagnetic flowmeters are suitable for
measurement of velocity of conducting (Mercury)
and weakly conducting (water) liquid. The basic
principle of operation can be understood from fig.
10.
➢ It works on the principle of basic electromagnetic
induction; i.e. when a conductor moves along a
magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of flow,
a voltage would be induced perpendicular to the
direction of movement as also to the magnetic filed.
➢ The flowing liquid acts like a conductor.
➢ External magnetic field is applied perpendicular to
the direction of the flow and two electrodes are
flushed on the wall of the pipeline as shown.

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Department, ASET, AUUP
 Electromagnetic Flowmeter
The expression for the voltage induced is given by:

(12)
where l is the length of the conductor (diameter d in this case) and v is the velocity of the liquid.
➢ The above expression shows the complete relationship between the voltage induced and the velocity.
However, the magnetic field applied is not d.c. if the liquid medium is water or any other polarizable
liquid. This is because, if the magnetic field is d.c. the voltage induced will also be d.c. and a small
amount of d.c. current will flow if a measuring circuit is connected to the terminals. This small d.c.
current will cause electrolysis; oxygen and hydrogen bubbles will be formed and they will stick to the
electrodes surfaces for some time.
➢ This will provide an insulating layer on the electrodes surfaces that will disrupt the voltage generation
process. As a result, the magnetic field applied for these cases is a.c., or pulsed d.c. excitation.
➢ The meter can only be used for liquids having moderate conductivities (more than 10 μmho cm / ). As a
result, it is not suitable for gases or liquid hydrocarbons. The accuracy is around±1%.

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Department, ASET, AUUP
 Turbine type Flowmeter
Turbine type flowmeter is a simple way for measuring flow velocity. A rotating shaft with turbine
type angular blades is placed inside the flow pipe. The fluid flowing through the pipeline will
cause rotation of the turbine whose speed of rotation can be a measure of the flowrate.
Referring fig.11, let blades make an angle α with the body. Then,

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 Turbine type Flowmeter

The speed of rotation of the turbine can be

measured using several ways, such as,
optical method, inductive pick up etc.

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